BUILDING THE ANNAPOLIS BOAT SHOWSEach October, for 40 years, the United States Sailboat Show (October 8-12, 2009) and the United States Powerboat Show (October 15-18, 2009) take over the docks and harbor of the colonial seaport of Annapolis. These two events, the oldest and largest in-water shows in the industry, are the only major boat shows not produced in an existing marina. Playing host to more than 250 sailboats, over 450 powerboats and hundreds of land exhibitors requires the construction of a temporary facility of stupendous proportions.

Because of the above average exposure to the sun, Skin Cancer is an important topic for those of us who spend time on the water. I'd like to share my experience in the hopes that my fellow boaters will take heed and be extra cautious about prevention and early detection. For the last 20 years, I've used sunscreen every day on my face and almost always worn sunscreen on any part of my body that was going to be exposed to the sun. I've read about and kept a watch out for those brown or black irregular or changing spots on my skin -- knowing they may indicate the onset of skin cancer. I've ...... Read More

I love to eat rockfish, pretty much every chance I get. For those people that that live outside of the Chesapeake Bay area, that's a striped bass, a fish with nice firm white meat, very similar to halibut. It goes by a lot of names wherever it is fished, but whatever you choose to call it, it is delicious. It is also still surviving (but still not exactly thriving) in the Chesapeake after fishing bans imposed in the 1980's were lifted. I eat it just about every weekend too. My husband and I spend most weekends in Easton, MD at our second home on the Eastern shore, where fresh rockfish and othe...... Read More

Funny how living on the water offers up many diversions that "land people" just don't get to experience. I guess it's about the wonderful impermanence of our living arrangements. In some sort of zen or quantum physics way, I can claim to not be living on the same water that I lived on yesterday even though I have not left my slip. The water beneath my boat is always moving with tide and wind. If such were the case ashore, I would be constantly under the proverbial "doorway" waiting for the aftershock.And so it is with those who live on the water. Boats and lives coming and...... Read More

Boat House RowContributed by lukey - This blog has been viewed 4088 times and there are 0 comments

Last night we attended a civic meeting to understand about the redevelopment of "Boat House Row", that all-but-forgotten strip of land following the Anacostia River in DC. The Near Southeast Urban Design Framework describes the area thusly: "Cut off from rest of the Near Southeast to the west and the Capitol Hill district the north by highway overpasses and rail connections, this sub-area has been physically and psychologically isolated." Anyway, it is home to a number of small-but-mighty rowing and powerboat clubs and not much else.It is interesting to see how DC poli...... Read More

The marina I live at is wonderful in many respects (more later), but it has zero facilities and zero things to do. Well, not quite zero... one can always hang out and gossip, but with only about 30 of us, that gets pretty old. I did give permission to one of the more shameless gossips to make up stuff about me, but that's as far as I get into that scene.For boating-related comaraderie, I usually head over to a sweet little no-frills boat club named Seafarers. It's up the Anacostia in an area that some call Boat House Row, others call it by different names as the area is not exactly chic. The ...... Read More

"Hello, my name is Lukey and I'm a liveaboard boater." No, it's not yet another twelve step gathering, but more a quick way to allow the new person I'm just meeting to nod politely and move away before I start a long dissertation on why dry-wall screws are generally not a good substitute for stainless or some other such boat repair esoterica.... Read More